Kitchen Sink Cookies

Hi guys!


I've been craving cookies lately, but wanted to bake some myself instead of buying ones. It's hard to find a cookie, especially if you're buying them, that is the perfect balance between crunchy and soft - I like them best that way. As I bought Cynthia Barcomi's cook book which is all about baking, I wanted to try one of her recipes and decided to go with a classic. Cynthia calls them "Kitchen Sink Cookies" as they are present at her house at any time. I love that she gives a basic recipe and lots of ingredients to mix and match.


Here's the recipe:


280g (9 1/4 oz; a little less than 2 cups) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda


250g (2 sticks) unsalted butter
260g (1 1/8 cup) sugar
1 teaspoon sugar beet syrup
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


1) Preheat the oven to 185°C (365°F). Line a baking tray with baking paper. Mix the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda.


2) Beat the butter until soft and creamy using a blender or kitchen machine. Add the sugar and syrup and beat until the mixture has become light and fluffy. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract and beat for a couple more minutes. 


3) Using a wooden spoon or dough scraper, mix the flour in the butter-sugar-mixture until just combined. 


4) Place tablespoons of dough on the baking tray. Make sure you leave some room between them. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until they're golden. Let cool on a cooking rack.

The recipe above is the basic dough. Now let's get your creativity going. You can add up to six ingredients by combining:

2 of the following:

100g (about 1 cup) rolled oats

80g (1/2 cup, packed) wholemeal flour
80g (1 cup) coconut
150g (2 cups) granola (whatever kind you like best)


2 of the following:
50g (1 3/4 oz; 1/2 cup) walnuts, chopped
50g (1 3/4 oz; 1/2 cup) pecans, chooped
100g (3 1/2 oz; about 1 cup) raisins
100g (3 1/2 oz; about 1 cup) cranberries
100g (3 1/2 oz; about 1 cup) dried figs; chopped


2 of the following;
100g (3 1/2 oz) dark chocolate; chopped
100g (3 1/2 oz) white chocolate; chopped
100g (3 1/2 oz) milk chocolate; chopped
100g Daim chocolate bars; chopped


Simply add your chosen ingredients in step 3.
I used chopped pecans, white chocolate, milk chocolate and cranberries for my cookies, but it's really about your mood at the very moment. 


Here's how the cookies turned out:

Have fun trying and let me know what combinations you've come up with!